I’ve already gone on my annual rant about post-draft grades. The Chiefs’ draft class continues to get slammed by media types because of the perceived reach to trade up and select Georgia WR Mecole Hardman.
The big enigma of the NFL draft is always about figuring out what, where and why teams value certain players. Unless you’re in the know you and talking with scouts, personnel guys and general managers, you don’t really know the value of a certain player. You can make projections based on individual talent, but that is only one piece of the puzzle.
One media member actually managed to figure out roughly where Hardman would be drafted. Hardman went one slot earlier than projected. That media member is NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah, who also is a former NFL scout. Check out his tweet down below:
Here’s a look at where Hardman ranked for on other pre-draft big boards.
Luke Easterling – The Draft Wire: No. 93 overall
The Draft Network: No. 70 overall
Pro Football Focus: No. 168 overall
Josh Norris – Rotoworld: No. 140 overall
Dan Kadar – SB Nation: No. 109 overall
Dane Brugler – The Athletic: No. 95 overall
This is not to say that all the other analysis is unworthy or wrong, but talent evaluators in the NFL clearly see something in Hardman. His skills prompted the Chiefs to trade up. They also prompted other teams to attempt to trade up for him. It’s no coincidence that the one media member, who has actually worked with NFL teams, managed to figure out where Hardman fit in this draft class.
So maybe, just maybe everyone should hold off on calling a player a reach until he’s actually had an opportunity to play a down in the NFL.
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